27 March 2014

One of the things about living in a small rural town is that pretty much everyone looks alike. When I first moved up here, I wrote to my friends back east and said, "There are two ethnic types in this town, and I'm one of them." Exaggerated, but close. In a town of 90% Norwegian/German/Dutch/Swedish/Danish with blond hair and blue eyes, let's just say that I stand out a bit. But you know, I think I'd rather stand out that look like everyone else. There was an old Twilight Zone show called "Number 12 Looks Just Like You", where everyone picks one of a handful of faces... well, I have sat many times in groups where there are three or four people who looked so much alike it was hard to say who was who. Between large families, intermarriage among cousins, etc., it happens. I don't know what they think about it - but I'm not sure I'd like it.

But perhaps I feel a little uneasy because they're all in the same town. I've run into look-alikes before: there's a cousin who looks just like Bob Bainborough (Dalton on The Red Green Show). There's a guy here in town who looks like Kenny Rogers used to before his plastic surgery. I ran into a guy at the pen recently who looked remarkably like Axl Rose. Years ago I was working at a 7-11 in Georgia, and a guy who looked like Lee Majors (6 Million Dollar Man) tried to pick me up.

Of course, there's more to it than looks. Or is there? If someone looks like someone else, do you expect them to behave like that person? Sometimes, yes. And if they act like someone else... well. Miss Marple was always watching people, and thinking how so-and-so had a weak chin, or a direct stare, or a nervous twitch, and from there reminisce about someone back in St. Mary Meade who did something bad, or were on the receiving end of the same... and history would repeat itself. And I think she was (largely) right.

I do this all the time. I know a meth twitch when I see one. (Along with the skin sores and bad teeth.) And there's also the liar's look: Agatha Christie nailed it, the person who looks you straight in the eye without wavering. But if you look at their neck/chin/shoulders, they're braced and ready for someone to ask them questions...

We've all heard the person who tells you the story of his/her life at such speed and length that it takes you a while to put together the complexity of it and realize that it never could have happened. They're lying about at least half of it, if not all of it, which would indicate that they are untrustworthy about other things as well.

There's the guy (sorry to be sexist, but these are mostly young men) who's always bragging about how tough he is, and you know, know, know that down deep he is scared s--tless. Which also means, he is very dangerous, but mostly because when he is pushed up against a wall, he will either (1) run at the wrong time, leaving whoever's around in danger or (2) react violently, but in such an inexpert way that whoever's around is more apt to be injured than the source of danger. I get away from these guys as quickly as I can. Thankfully, these days I usually only run into them in controlled environments.

The super-complimentary, women or men, sloshing sugar all over the place, are always, always, always up to something. If nothing else, they're trying to be your friend without giving anything but compliments.

And, of course, the classic predator: attentive, adhesive, encircling, gradually eliminating anyone and anything else but themselves, until they and they alone are the only person in their victim's life.

03 February 2013

If you don't know the acronym UAV, you're so out of date! Predator
drones and the overhead gadgets police use to spy on your backyard
barbecue are called UAVs– unmanned ariel vehicles– UAV, for short.

Those drones we've read about in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Iraq? They
were developed for use in combat territories, not against our own
citizens. But once out of the bag, did anyone seriously expect they
wouldn't be deployed here at home?

I'm torn, partly from techno-geek attraction, partly because I don't
like putting soldiers in harm's way, but partly because I don't like
the idea of killing from the heavens. But now we face another factor–
unarmed drones are being deployed against American citizens. Not
only can they violate your air space, they can violate your personal
space.

Since 9/11, civil liberties have been pouring down the rathole of
'homeland security', most notably from the Orwellian-named US PATRIOT
Acts I and II. They've been stripping basic rights when you weren't
looking and now we have one more way to spy– against ourselves. Wasn't
this what we were taught was so evil about other governments?

That's not to say I don't think domestic drones can have a positive
purpose, but without well defined rules, expect them to be misused and
abused. Cases have already surfaced of drones spying on ordinary
citizens going about their own business on their own property.

The Little Plane that Couldn't

Like boys with the latest R/C plane, our local law enforcement is
delighted with their new toy. While issuing solemn assurances to the
press they won't use drones to observe security precautions of, say,
Mrs. Trudy Boomdacious tanning by her pool at Nº 31 Sunkist
Lane, they can hardly contain themselves until they can go out and
play. Hey, I can't blame them.

But, as we learn from time to time, high technology is beyond some
officials. From our Texas reader Vicki comes this article by Jim Hightower
about Montgomery County's new flying gadget. When showing it off, it
seems
the sheriff dragged out all his goodies including a Bearcat troop
transport with full swat team. It looked great, but unfortunately, the
sheriff's department hasn't learned how to drive… or at least fly.

The drone that grew out of R/C toys has itself become a toy. On Amazon, people like me of twisted mind and
sense of humor have been piling on the review comments. Warning: I said twisted,
for example:

"At last! A Child Predator!"

"With my son's birthday fast approaching, I simply couldn't fathom what
to get him. Last year we had purchased for him the Home Waterboarding
Kit and buying him the same present two years in a row just seemed
wrong...fortunately I found this! I love to watch the maniacal gleam in
his eye as he imagines seas of Pakistani women and children before him
and screams 'Death from above!'. It reminds me of all the joy I got
from the My Lai Massacre playset I had as a child. Shock and awe!"

"(My son) just loves flying his drone around our house, dropping
Hellfire missiles on Scruffy, our dog. He kept saying that Scruffy was
a terror suspect and needed to be taken out. I asked him if Scruffy
should get a trial first, and he quoted Lindsay Graham, Senator:
"Scruffy, you don't get a trial!" I was so proud. I think I'll buy him
some video games that promote martial law for Christmas."

"I just have to say that the educational value of this toy is GREAT. I
just tell my son: This is what the West is using to kill the Rest. We
fly these wonderful planes carrying bombs and we drop them on people we
sort of think are terrorists and other people…"

"Not very educational, as the software is point-and-click, and the
targets' death screams all sound the same. Not durable either, since
they tend to crash between smoking, charred corpses."

"This is the best toy ever. Finally, I can pretend that I'm a winner of
the Nobel Peace Prize!"